


Haunted

by Modenasaur



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Drama, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-22 21:44:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21083573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Modenasaur/pseuds/Modenasaur
Summary: From the first moment she had seen him, she had loved him. He had saved her from the flames that had claimed her home, and had promised to return for her. But, he isn't the man she had thought he was, at least not anymore...





	1. Past is Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Implied Sephiroth x OC. Adelina is my OC, and belongs to me.

I was born on a chilly day in January, in the little town of Nibelheim. My parents were often away on their explorations, so I was left in the care of their closest friend, Mrs. Strife, whenever they were away. She was a kind woman whose husband had vanished when their son, Cloud, was only three years old. I was four years old when I lost my parents. Mrs. Strife had been babysitting me while my parents were away on an exploration of Mt. Nibel. It was late in the day, and I had been playing with Cloud, then seven years old, in his room, when a man came and spoke with Mrs. Strife.

We could hear the hushed voices of the adults from his room, but we paid no attention to what was being said and focused only on our games. But after the man left, which we heard when he shut the door behind him on his way out, Mrs. Strife came into the room with tears in her eyes. Cloud and I had asked her why she was crying, and she had looked at me sadly.

“Your parents,” Mrs. Strife had choked out, bending down before me and placing her hands on my small shoulders. “They were f-found... at Mt. Nibel...” she continued, so many tears streaming down her face. “They... fell. They're gone.” she had told me at last. I hadn't understood, and I think she could tell, for she forced herself to speak again. “They're dead, Adelina... They won't be coming ho-home again...” she told me, sobbing. I had stared a her for the longest time, her words taking a while to register in my young mind. Once the words had sunk in and I had understood what she had just told me, I had cried.

I had cried for an hour, or possibly longer, until my tears had finally run out. Mrs. Strife had held me close the entire time, stroking my hair gently, while Cloud had held my hand, not knowing what else to do. There were times when I had cried out for my mother and father, although my voice cracked and sounded hoarse because my throat had gone dry. I hadn't wanted it to be true. Part of me had thought that it wasn't true, that my parents were still alive, and yet another part of me had known that it was true, no matter how much I had wished that it wasn't.

“Make them come back...” I had whispered when Mrs. Strife had tucked me into Cloud's bed that night.

“Shhh.” Mrs. Strife had spoken quietly, soothingly, into my ear. “I am here, dear. I will always be here for you.” she had added softly. I had sat up and clung to her as I had closed my eyes tightly shut, trying as hard as I could to escape the pain of loss that was welling up inside of my heart. She had stroked my hair, and had let me cling to her until I had become too sleepy to stay awake any longer.

From that day forward, Mrs. Strife became like a second mother to me. She had taken me in, and had cared for me as if I were her real daughter. I came to think of Cloud as my older brother. Back in those days, after I had lost my parents, Cloud and I had spent a lot of time together. It was through Cloud that I had met Tifa Lockheart, a friend of his, who has treated me like a little sister ever since the day we first met. During the first two years after their death, whenever I would think of my parents I would start to cry. In those moments, Mrs. Strife would hold me and stroke my hair, or Tifa and Cloud would try to make me smile or laugh instead of cry.

There was one night when I dreamed of my parents and I woke with a start, crying uncontrollably. Cloud had sat with me, and he talked about his father. Cloud's father had vanished one day, when he was only three years old. Why he had left was a mystery, and whether or not he was still alive was also unknown, but Cloud remembered how hurt he had been at the time. But, there was nothing he could do to bring his father back, and he had learned to deal with his absence. After that day, I had stopped crying about losing my parents. I wanted to be strong, like Cloud, so I wouldn't cry anymore. There are still moments when I miss my parents, but I have gotten used to the ache that it causes in my heart.

* * *

It was one day when I was ten years old when I first saw _him_\- the most stunning man that I had ever seen in my entire life. I had been watching TV, and they had been talking about the Shinra Company's victory over Wutai, when they showed a picture of _him_. He was a SOLDIER, with long silver hair and striking cat-like eyes, quite muscular and with a handsome face. His name was Sephiroth. And I fell in love with him instantly. The year following my first glimpse of Sephiroth, Cloud left home to join SOLDIER. I hadn't wanted to let him go, for I would miss him terribly, but he had made his decision and there was no stopping him.

It wasn't three days later that I had announced that I would go to work for Shinra as soon as I was old enough. Neither Mrs. Strife nor Tifa had been happy about that announcement. But, if I worked for Shinra, perhaps I would see Cloud? Maybe I would even get to see Sephiroth in person? Maybe I could even get a chance to talk with him? It must have sounded hopeless, for such a young girl to be in love with a man who must be at least ten years older than herself? Still, a girl could hope, and dream. During the two years after Cloud had left to join SOLDIER, I spent most of my time with Tifa, and I'm thankful for her company nowadays.

Some days I spent watching Tifa train with a martial artist, marveling at their strength. Other days Tifa and I would explore Mt. Nibel, despite my insecurities about traveling the place that had taken the lives of my parents. Tifa wanted to become a guide, so that she could show people through the treacherous mountain. My parents hadn't been the only ones whose lives had been claimed by Mt. Nibel through the years, and Tifa wanted to try and prevent any more disastrous falls. When I wasn't with Tifa, I was at home, watching the news on the TV, looking through newspapers, or rifling through mail, hoping for a letter from Cloud. We hadn't heard from him, and I had been very worried.

And then came the day that would change everything...


	2. A Chance Encounter

It was a lovely day, and I was outside talking with Tifa and watching the cloudless blue sky as birds flitted across it. _Such a nice day, _I thought to myself. The sun warmed my skin as it shone down on Nibelheim. I would have called it the perfect day, except something, or rather someone, was missing so it fell short.

“Do you think Cloud will visit soon?” I asked Tifa. I hadn't seen or heard from Cloud since he had left to become a SOLDIER two years ago, and I missed him and worried about him terribly. I knew Tifa missed him and worried about him just as much, if not more so, as I did.

“I hope so.” Tifa replied, looking up at the sky. For a while after that we just stood there in silence, watching the sky and the birds as we tried to keep our minds off of worrisome thoughts. Then suddenly, we heard a commotion coming from the front of town. Curious, as I always was, I headed in that direction to see what was up, Tifa following behind me. When we arrived, I saw four men getting out of the back of a truck that bore the Shinra logo. The first two men who came out of the truck wore uniforms and helmets which hid their faces; _infantrymen, _I told myself silently.

The third man to come out of the truck had black hair and blue eyes, and he was dressed in the normal SOLDIER attire.  _A real SOLDIER, _ I thought excitedly as I stared at him with wide eyes. The black haired man was rather handsome and appeared to be close to Cloud's age, but my attention was soon turned towards the fourth man who was getting out of the vehicle. My heart started pounding as I looked him over, and the breath caught in my throat. He had beautiful, long silver hair that flowed down his back, and he had stunning cat-like mako green eyes. I was reminded of all the newspapers I had read and the times I had watched the news on TV excitedly.

The man I now gazed upon was none other than  _Sephiroth_ .  _The _ Sephiroth, in the flesh.  _He's here in Nibelheim! _ I thought, my heart fluttering wildly in shock. I watched as Tifa walked over to the four men, as they were heading towards the Inn. She spoke to the black haired man for a little while before she ran off. I stood there, watching as Sephiroth and the three other men entered the Inn. I couldn't believe it. Sephiroth was actually here in Nibelheim! Perhaps I would get a chance to talk to him?

* * *

It was September 21st, and I had slept restlessly the night before. My mind had been filled with thoughts of Sephiroth, which nearly kept me up all night. Even once I had finally managed to fall asleep, my dreams were filled with visions of the man with long silver hair. It was now dawn, a bit early for me to be up as I usually didn't get up this early, but I got up anyway and got dressed. My excitement would not allow me to sleep any longer. I had a quick meal, and then went to see if Tifa was up. She was, and we talked for a short while.

“I have to get to work now, Addy.” Tifa said to me. Addy is the pet name that she and Cloud call me most of the time. Most of the other townsfolk just call me Adelina. “Right now, Tifa?” I asked, looking at her with a pout. I really wanted to talk more with her, especially about Sephiroth.

“Yes, right now.” Tifa said with a laugh. “I'll come by later, if I can, okay?” She added, smiling at me. I nodded, but otherwise did not reply as I watched her walk away. I sighed, wondering what I would do now that I was alone and had the whole day ahead of me. I decided to go for a walk around Nibelheim for a while. Maybe I would see Sephiroth? After a few moments of strolling through the town, I gazed up at the sky and noticed a few clouds. I thought of my “big brother” while I wandered about town aimlessly, and an ache started in my chest. I really wondered why he hadn't been in contact with us, and I hoped everything was okay.

I was drawn out of my thoughts when I noticed Sephiroth and the other three men from the day before, walking with obvious purpose ahead of me. I watched as they approached Tifa, and she spoke to them.  _So, that's her job! To show them around Mt. Nibel,_ I guessed. Tifa worked as a tour guide in the mountains. I had worried about Tifa working in those mountains at first, since my own parents had died there. But, gradually, as I had accompanied Tifa into the mountains numerous times before, I had stopped worrying so much. I now wished that I had decided to become a tour guide like Tifa. Then, a thought occurred to me: I knew those mountains well by now. As well as Tifa knew them, at least. I had accompanied her many times before. It was a long shot, but maybe I could convince her to allow me to tag along.

“Tifa,” I said quietly as I walked over to her and the four men. “Co-could I come along?” I asked, almost shyly. I noticed Sephiroth's cat-like eyes looking in my direction and I could feel my cheeks heat up almost instantly. _Why is he looking at me, _I wondered? I glanced down at my attire nervously. I was wearing a black tank top, dark brown cargo pants and black and white sneakers. Not the most girlish thing to wear. _Why didn't I wear a dress today, for once?_

“Well, you _are _a tour guide, too, Addy.” Tifa said after taking a moment to think, looking at me with a knowing smile. I looked up at her in hardly concealed shock and anticipation. “Sure, you can come.” She finally said with a wink, and I smiled gratefully at her. Tifa knew how in love with Sephiroth I was.

“Thank you, Tifa.” I whispered to her, elated that I would be joining her in showing Sephiroth and the other men around Mt. Nibel. She smiled and then winked at me again, causing me to blush a deeper red. I then noticed that a man with a camera stood nearby, ready to take a picture of all of us and my heart fluttered nervously. Tifa took off her hat, straightening her hair, and lightly bumped into me, causing me to stumble sideways and bump into Sephiroth who now stood beside me.

“So-sorry..” I mumbled, blushing yet again. I heard the camera man say something and I looked up just as he snapped a picture of us. I felt my cheeks burning.

“Shall we go?” Tifa asked afterward, receiving a nod from Sephiroth. The six of us then headed out of Nibelheim, and toward the mountains. I could hear Tifa talking about something every now and then, but my attention was mostly fixed on Sephiroth, so I didn't hear a word that she said as we walked along. We had not gotten that far up the mountain when darkness fell and we had to set up camp. We camped on the trail and I let my hair, normally held up in a ponytail, fall loose to hide my face while I watched Sephiroth.

My heart was still pounding, and my cheeks were burning. I thanked Tifa a thousand times over in my mind for letting me come along on this trip. This was the chance of a lifetime, and I was grateful to her. We all had a small meal, and Tifa chatted a little bit with the other SOLDIER in the group, while I continued to watch Sephiroth through the cover of my brown hair. It wasn't long into the night when I fell asleep.

* * *

The next day was uneventful for the most part. I had learned from Tifa that we were heading towards the Mako Reactor in the mountains. I assumed Sephiroth and his party were going there for an inspection of some sort. That night, while we were all camped around a fire and Tifa was talking to the young man with black hair whose name, as I had found out, was Zack Fair, Sephiroth noticed me watching him. My heart pounded louder and I averted my gaze while I felt my cheeks burn. I then decided to go to sleep, with my back towards Sephiroth.

_I shouldn't have stared at him like that, _I scolded myself silently. He had never said anything about my staring at him, though. He probably thought that I was just some silly girl with a crush on him. After all, I was a thirteen-year-old girl who was in love with him. I found myself wishing that I was older and more endowed, like Tifa was. I'm rather lacking in the chest area, and I'm slim, but not very curvy at all. I have brown hair that falls just below my shoulders, and eyes as green and shining as emeralds. People in Nibelheim have called me pretty, but I don't really listen to them. _Tifa's the pretty one, _I had always told myself.

* * *

On the third day of our trek through Mt. Nibel, one of the infantrymen fell to his death. It made me remember what had happened to my parents, and I was so shaken by it that I almost turned around and ran back to Nibelheim then and there. But, I was able to calm myself down by telling myself that he had fell only because he was unfamiliar with the path through the mountains. So on we went. We camped out again that night, on the trail as before. Tomorrow we would reach the Mako Reactor. I was unable to sleep that night, still thinking about the man who had fell to his death earlier in the day. Just like my parents had done years ago.

My heart ached, remembering my parents. I held on tightly to my knees as I stared at the camp fire, remembering that day nine years ago when Mrs. Strife had told me that my parents had been found dead. I held back the tears that were threatening to spill out of my eyes. I then noticed that Sephiroth was watching me when I happened to glance up briefly. Everyone else was asleep, and I had thought that Sephiroth had gone to sleep as well, but I guess not. I didn't look away this time. I couldn't look away, with his cat-like eyes holding me in a trance. I don't know how long we stared at each other like that. I could not read his thoughts, nor his emotions. He was so mysterious. Neither of us said a word. At some point, while I was staring into his eyes, I fell asleep.

* * *

The next day we finally reached the Mako Reactor. Tifa wanted to go inside and take a look, and so did I, but Sephiroth told us that we were not permitted to go inside the Reactor and the remaining infantryman would not let neither Tifa nor myself into the Reactor, so we had to wait outside while Zack and Sephiroth went inside. I was bored and restless, and soon started pacing while we waited for the two men to finish whatever business they had with the reactor. I must have still been in a daze from the night before, for my mind hardly registered what happened in the next moments.

A monster had attacked us, and the infantryman tried to protect Tifa and myself from it, albeit with little success and was injured in the process. Tifa, though, had been learning martial arts and so she could defend herself rather well. I was really impressed, and made a mental note to try and learn something of self defense. Two more monsters showed up, however, and I was worried that Tifa would not be able to hold them back on her own. I had no experience in combat, and no weapons either, so I instead tried to tend to the injured infantryman. Luckily, Zack came out of the reactor to fight the monsters before Tifa or myself could be injured.

Afterward, with the monsters gone, Tifa and I helped the infantryman down the mountain while Zack followed us, making sure no more monsters attacked us. I wondered where Sephiroth was, as I had only glimpsed him briefly after the incident with the monsters, but I tried to focus on helping the injured infantryman instead.

* * *

When we arrived back in Nibelheim early on September 27th, Sephiroth was nowhere to be found. Tifa went to ask around town to see where Sephiroth had gone, and I hung out by the Inn, lost in my own thoughts until Tifa came and said that Sephiroth was at Shinra Manor, where he then stayed for several long days. What exactly Sephiroth was doing in that mansion, I will probably never know. But, I know that something had happened to him back at the Mako Reactor, and I had a bad feeling about whatever had happened. As we had headed down the mountain, I had glimpsed him leaving the Reactor. Some part of me was now terrified of him, after seeing the look in his eyes as he had exited the Reactor. It was like some sort of madness had entered his mind.

I didn't see Sephiroth again until October 1st, when he had finally decided to come out of the mansion. I was walking around Nibelheim, within sight of the mansion, when I saw him. He left the mansion, but I soon lost sight of him as he slipped between the buildings of Nibelheim. I was wandering around the buildings, trying desperately to find him, when I smelt it: Smoke. Fire. Something burning. Before my mind could register what was happening, a wall of fire rose up in front of me. I jumped back and screamed, and it wasn't long before I heard other people screaming as well. Terrified, and with the heat of the flames licking at my skin, I ran.

I did not know where I was going, as in my terror I could not think straight and was simply running aimlessly. I suddenly found myself trapped, and surrounded by fire, with no way to escape it. Tears welled up in my eyes as the flames once again licked at my skin. Was I to die here? Smoke stung my eyes and I started coughing as it filled my lungs, threatening to choke me. My vision was starting to get blurry and I felt very dizzy. The world was starting to spin around me, a jumble of bright flames, dark smoke, and crumbling buildings. Then, suddenly, I saw a figure coming out of the flames. I thought that I was hallucinating for sure. If I was, I did not mind.

Seeing the long silver hair that flowed down the figure's back and his mako green eyes that were fixed on me, I felt like a knight had come to rescue me. Silently, he walked over to me and picked me up in his arms before I could collapse to the ground as my legs grew weak. The smoke was really getting to me by this point, burning my lungs as it filled them. I coughed again before I looked up into his face. His eyes were different, somehow. Softer. Maybe this was all just a hallucination, but no longer did he seem quite so mysterious to me. I saw things in his eyes then that I had not seen before: Pain. Sadness. Anger. The anger seemed strongest, although I could tell by the way that he looked at me that he was not angry with me. He was angry at something else.

I wondered what could have made him so angry? I also wondered what caused his pain, and what made him sad. I wanted to know everything. My mind briefly registered that Sephiroth had carried me out of the flames and away from the burning buildings, but not too far away from the outskirts of Nibelheim. My eyes were still fixed on his face; he was so handsome, even now. I wondered what it would be like to see that face every day. What it would be like to be at his side. Suddenly, Sephiroth was setting me down on the ground and my head reeled from the movement. I reached out for him in alarm as I felt myself losing consciousness. I did not want him to go, to leave me all alone here. I wanted, more than anything, to be close to him.

“I will return for you.” Sephiroth told me quietly. Then, my world went black.


	3. Shinra

It has been five years since that day when the flames had consumed Nibelheim, my former home. Five years since that day when Sephiroth saved me from the smoke and the flames. I wonder now why he had chosen to save me. After all, he had been the one to set Nibelheim ablaze, as I had learned from Tifa after it all had happened and she had found me on the outskirts of town. So, why had he chosen to save me that day? _I will return for you._ Sephiroth's words rang in my head, as they often had in the years following the burning of Nibelheim. There were times when those same words haunted my dreams, and I would wake up in a cold sweat.

_You never did,_ I thought bitterly as those words rang out again in my mind. It had probably all just been an hallucination, anyway. What he had said to me, and perhaps even how he had saved me that day. Although, I so wanted those words to be true and I wanted to believe that he had indeed been the one to save me that day. Learning what he had done, and knowing that Tifa hated him for it like she hated SOLDIER and Shinra now, had not taken my love for Sephiroth away. When I lay in bed at night, asleep and dreaming of that day and of Sephiroth, I wish it had taken my love for him away. I wished that I hated him as much as Tifa did.

How could I still love him, after what he had done to my home? He had set Nibelheim on fire, and he had hurt Tifa. Yet still, I wanted to see him again. At least one more time. _It doesn't matter now,_ I tell myself. I am now eighteen, and I still have the same slim body that I used to, although I now have a few more curves. I've let my brown hair grow longer, and I keep it in a ponytail most of the time, just as I always did back then in those days. I'm still lacking in the chest area, although not as much as before, and I am only an inch shorter than Tifa now, at 5 feet and 3 inches tall. I still have to admit, though, that even now I am just a bit envious of Tifa's figure. I now work for the Shinra Company, in their main building, as a researcher and assistant in the lab.

It took a lot of hard work for me to advance to this position, and I have to say I am proud of myself for it. I have not seen nor heard from Cloud since he left to join SOLDIER all those years ago, and I have not seen Tifa since the day I turned fourteen. That was the day when I had left to get a job at Shinra, just as I had promised that I would years prior. Tifa hates Shinra, after what had happened to Nibelheim, and she had tried desperately to get me to change my mind about working for Shinra when I had announced that I would be leaving to get a job at the company. But, I would not be swayed. If anything, what had happened to Nibelheim had made me more determined than ever to work for the Shinra Company.

As a child, I think I had actually admired the Shinra Company. But after the incident in Nibelheim, even I grew to loathe them to some degree. But, that did not stop me from seeking to work for them. What I really wanted, and what I still want now, is to find out about Sephiroth. Something had happened to him that day, at the Mako Reactor, that had led to Nibelheim being engulfed in flames. I want to know what could have possibly happened to cause all of that. I wanted to know what could have made him so angry that he had done that. What could have caused the pain and sadness that I had thought I had also glimpsed in his eyes that day. Perhaps sifting through the files at Shinra Headquarters will give me some information, and that is why I have worked so hard to advance myself through the ranks of the company.

I live close to the Shinra building, and I have made a few friends since I started working there a few years ago: Misty also works for Shinra, on the second floor. We used to work together for a short while, until my talents were noticed and I started to advance through the ranks. Even though we no longer work on the same floor together, I usually always greet her on my way up to the lab. Sometimes we leave work together, if I finish for the day early enough, and we talk about various things as we head out. Leila lives next door to me, and usually greets me when I head off to work in the mornings. She made me feel so welcome when I first came here, and even gave me a place to stay until I could afford my own place.

On my days off, we sometimes have lunch or dinner together. Then, there is Elena, who is part of Shinra's Turks, and who I sometimes see while at work. All of them are nice, but I miss Cloud and Tifa very much. _Is Cloud even still alive? _An involuntary shudder coursed throughout the entire length of my body at the thought. _No, he must be alive. He has to be. _I may not have seen him for many years, but I know that Cloud is alive.

* * *

It started out like any ordinary day. I waved to Leila as I left to go to work, smiling as she wished me good luck with whatever tasks I would be given. She had no clue exactly what I did at work, but she knew that I worked in a lab. I wore a long white lab coat over a white shirt and black skirt. Yes, I had started wearing skirts, although I only really wore them at work. At home, or whenever I go out somewhere, I normally wear a tank top or tee shirt and pants. What can I say? I'm a bit of a tomboy, just as I have always been. At Headquarters, I stopped on the second floor to say hello to Misty as she sat behind her desk, before I headed for the Lab on the 67th floor to see if Professor Hojo had anything he needed my help with.

There was a new specimen, he told me, but right now he did not need my help as he was going to a meeting in a little while so I could work on whatever I wanted to in the meantime. _Thank goodness,_ I thought as I breathed a sigh of relief. Hojo was kind of creepy, and I was always uncomfortable whenever he looked at me. It made me feel like one of the specimens in the lab whenever he laid eyes on me. Since I was not needed for anything in particular, I headed for the research libraries on a lower floor, where Shinra keeps records on all sorts of things: plans for Midgar, files on SOLDIERs, Materia, the Jenova Project. I had already looked through the files on SOLDIERs, and had not found a file for Cloud despite rechecking all of the files several times in case I had overlooked his file somehow.

That meant that he had not become a SOLDIER, as I could not fathom why anyone would remove his file and not put it back if he had become one. So, what then? Had Cloud chosen a different position in Shinra, or had he just gone somewhere and felt too ashamed to return home after failing to become a SOLDIER? I had told myself that I would look through the files on all of the Shinra employees some time, to see if I could find a file on Cloud anywhere among them. I had not done that yet, but today was not the day for that. I had already decided that today I would look through the files on the Jenova Project. I had no idea what that project was about, and was quite curious to find out what it was. While I was worried about what had become of Cloud, my curiosity got the better of me in the end.

I headed into the library where the files on the Jenova Project were kept and grabbed a folder off the shelf. Opening the folder, I began to quietly read its contents. After a few moments I heard the library door open, but I did not stop reading to see who it was who had entered the library. I was too engulfed by the words on the pages I was reading to care who had come into the library at that moment. Then I heard someone gasp, and I thought they sounded familiar, so I looked up. And I gasped in surprise as I saw who it was.

“Addy!” Tifa exclaimed as she stared at me with wide eyes. I noticed a tall, dark skinned man behind her who gazed back and forth between Tifa and myself. I wondered who he was, but before I could even form words to so much as greet Tifa, another man appeared. One whom I recognized all too well, and my heart clenched as memories of my childhood flooded my mind. The man had spiky blond hair, and blue eyes. And, for some reason, he was wearing SOLDIER attire which puzzled me, but the thought was pushed to the back of my mind.

“Brother!” I cried, dropping the folder of files on the floor as I rushed over and hugged him tightly. It was Cloud! I could barely believe that he was here, after so many years of his absence in my life. “Where have you been?” I asked as I pulled away and looked him up and down. He had grown quite a lot, but he was Cloud, all right. Tears stung at my eyes as I gazed at him, still shocked to see him after all these years.

“Around.” Cloud answered me, a small smile on his lips. “You work for Shinra now?” he asked, taking in my appearance. I briefly wondered if it was my lab coat or the fact that I was in this library that gave it away. “Yeah,” I replied, smiling back at him. “I'm a researcher slash lab assistant.” I added proudly.

“Addy,” Tifa spoke up, and I turned to her, hearing the urgency in her voice. Some part of me expected her to be a little hostile, considering that I worked for Shinra, whom she hated so much. Another part of me expected her to be worried about me, as she had been in the past.

“It's been a while, Tifa.” I said to her. “How have you been?”

“Um, okay.” Tifa replied. She didn't sound hostile, just... awkward. Like talking to me was awkward. I guessed it probably was, considering I was sort of a Shinra lackey now. “Addy, do you know of someone named Aerith?” She asked me. I thought the name sounded a little familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

“I'm not sure..” I replied to her honestly. “I think I might have heard someone mention an Aerith before. Why?” I asked, curiously.

“She's a friend of ours and she was kidnapped by the Turks.” Tifa explained to me quickly. I gave a nod at her explanation. If this Aerith had been kidnapped by the Turks, then chances were that she was in this building. I wondered, though, why they would kidnap someone. Had Aerith done something to get on Shinra's bad side?

“Then she must be in the building, somewhere. I can help you look for her. If that's alright?” I said, holding up my keycard proudly. “I can't get to every floor, but I can at least get us up to the 67th floor. She might be there.” I added.

“If you help us, you could get in trouble, Addy.” Cloud spoke up, and I looked at him. His gaze was very serious, and held barely concealed worry that I still managed to pick up on. Considering that they weren't Shinra employees, I certainly could get in trouble for taking them to areas where they wouldn't otherwise be permitted to go.

“Well, it's my choice, and I want to help you.” I told him, gazing back at him with a look that surely told of my own seriousness. “How did you three get in here, anyway? And who is your friend there, by the way?” I asked, looking at the tall man behind them.

“That's Barret. And we, um, sort of snuck in... And got hold of a keycard.” Tifa said. I nodded at the tall man, Barret, after Tifa had finsihed her explanation.

“Nice to meet you, Barret. Name's Adelina Strife, but call me Addy.” I told him before eying Tifa. “Snuck in, huh? We better hurry, then. I don't think it will take that long before the guards become aware that there are intruders in the building.” I told them before I picked up the files that I had scattered on the floor and put them back in their folder. I glanced at the shelf and then at the folder in my hands. I hadn't read much of what was contained in there, but what I had read of the Jenova Project so far had caught my attention. I grabbed the other folders with files on the Jenova Project and stuffed them into the bag that I carried with me.

No one was supposed to take files from the libraries, but, hey, if I got caught helping intruders I'd be in big trouble anyway and would probably never get the chance to check out the libraries here again, so I might as well take them with me.

“Follow me.” I told them before we left the library. I casually headed for the stairs, keycard in hand. I hardly ever took the elevator, unless I needed to be somewhere fast, because it sort of freaks me out. I didn't want to admit that to the others, and thankfully they didn't question my choice of taking the stairs. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret followed behind me as I climbed up the stairs. As we climbed, I spoke to Tifa and found out that only the other day she had been reunited with Cloud. And that she, Cloud, and Barret were members of a group known as AVALANCHE.

“Oh, boy. Then you three are really going to be in trouble if you get caught. Having blown those Mako Reactors, and all. And that deal about the plate over Sector 7.” I commented. Of course every Shinra employee knew about what had happened in Sector 7, and that AVALANCHE was being blamed for it.

“It's them Shinra that are responsible for the plate falling in Sector 7!” Barret rumbled at me, sounding defensive and a bit angry.

“O-okay. Gotcha.” I said to him, eyeing his gun-arm nervously. Best not to make him angry. I imagined that others had learned that lesson the hard way in the past, and I didn't want to be one of them.

“Addy, are you sure you want to help us?” Tifa asked me again. “Who knows what Shinra'll do if they find out that you helped us.” She added, and I shrugged.

“Heh, probably fire me. But, I have the files I want, so let them go ahead and do that. I don't care.” I said, grinning as I patted my bag that held the files on the Jenova Project. Tifa and Cloud still looked at me with worried expressions, and I rolled my eyes at them. “Hey, I'll live. Now, stop worrying about me.” I told them. They both nodded in response. We continued up the stairs silently for a while, until an idea struck me.

“Hey, since we're going to be in big trouble anyway... Care to listen in on a meeting of the higher-ups?” I asked them, grinning. I had always wondered what those meetings were about, and this seemed like the best chance to find out. I might never get such a chance again, after all. “We might find out some useful information.” I added when they did not reply right away to my suggestion. The three of them finally agreed, and I led them to the 66th floor where the conference room was.

“We can't go barging in, obviously.” I told them. “And, we won't be able to hear anything by listening at the door. But, I do know of a way to spy on them.” I said, grinning as I led them to the bathrooms on this floor. This might seem weird, I'm sure, to some people, but I had been in the bathrooms on this floor before and heard voices, even when there was no one else in there. I had looked around and discovered that the voices were coming from the vent above one of the stalls. I led Cloud and the others to that stall and pointed out the vent.

“We have to get up there.” I told them. Cloud went first, taking the cover off the vent and climbing up into the passageway. Then he helped Tifa and then myself up, and then came Barret last. The four of us then crawled through the passage, towards where the voices seemed to be coming from. And we discovered another vent cover, above the conference room where the meeting was being held. I peered curiously down at the room below.

“Geez! That's a lotta suits!” Barret remarked as we spied on the meeting happening in the room below us. I had to agree with him. There was President Shinra, of course. I had seen him a few times before. Then there was Scarlett, a blond haired woman and head of the Weapons Division. I didn't know her well, but I didn't really like her very much. She didn't make a good first impression with most people. There was also Reeve, an executive in charge of Urban Development; he wasn't so bad. I had run into him once, and he had seemed rather nice and pleasant to talk to.

There was Heidegger, the head of the Public Maintenance and Order Division. I hated him, although I didn't know him well. He just rubbed me the wrong way. There was also Palmer, the head of the Space Development Division. I didn't know him well, either. Palmer... was just Palmer. I was drawn out of my thoughts as the people gathered in the conference room started speaking.

“We have the damage estimates for Sector 7.” Reeve was saying. “Considering the factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage is estimated at approximately 10 billion gil.” he announced. _That's a lot of gil! _I thought silently, my mouth dropping open at the unbelievable amount of money. “The estimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is-” Reeve was saying, but the President cut him off.

“We're not rebuilding.” President Shinra told Reeve. I gasped at his statement. Why not rebuild? What about all the people whose homes were destroyed in Sector 7? They needed a place to live!

“What?” I heard Reeve echo my thoughts.

“We're leaving Sector 7 as it is, and restarting the Neo-Midgar plan.” President Shinra explained. _Neo-Midgar? _I had never heard of that before, and I'm not sure if I had seen anything about it in the library, either.

“... Then the Ancients?” Reeve asked. I raised an eyebrow and leaned down closer to the vent, listening intently as the conversation continued.

“The Promised Land will be ours. I want you to raise the Mako rates fifteen percent in every area.” President Shinra told Reeve. _Fifteen percent! And what's this Promised Land he's talking about?_ I wondered as they spoke.

“Rate hike! Rate hike! Tra, la, la!” Cried Palmer, and I cringed at the glee in his voice. “And please, include our Space Program in the budget!” I rolled my eyes at this. So like Palmer.

“Reeve and Scarlett will divide the extra income from the rate increase.” President Shinra said to Palmer.

“Oh man!” Palmer cried. _Ha ha. _I thought, almost grinning at Palmer's disappointment.

“Sir,” Said Reeve. “If you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence-” Again, he was interrupted by the President. I felt rather sorry for Reeve, seeing him constantly being interrupted by the President.

“It'll be all right. The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence, they'll trust Shinra Inc. even more.” President Shinra said. _Ignorant?! _I thought angrily. Heidegger started laughing then, which only made me more angry to see him find that so funny. _How dare they!_

“After all, we're the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!” Heidegger said, and I gritted my teeth. I heard Barret cursing, and then I saw Hojo enter the conference room and I cringed again.

“Hojo, how's the girl?” President Shinra asked. _What girl? _I wondered.

“As a specimen, she is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to her mother, Ifalna, but for now the difference is eighteen percent.” Hojo told the President. _What is this about? Who is Ifalna? _I wondered.

“How long will the research take?” President Shinra asked Hojo.

“Probably 120 years. It's probably impossible to finish in our lifetime. Or in the lifetime of the specimen, too, for that matter. That's why we're thinking of breeding her. Then we could create one that could withstand our research for a long time.” Hojo explained. I was starting to wonder who or what he was talking about.

“What about the Promised Land? Won't it hinder our plans?” President Shinra asked. I was beginning to wonder what this 'Promised Land' was, too.

“That's what I need to plan. The mother is strong.. and yet has her weaknesses.” Hojo said, turning around. He looked to be in deep thought. The President took that as the cue to end the meeting, and dismissed everyone. As they were leaving, I noticed Scarlett stop and sniff, then glance up towards the vent. I shrunk back so as not to be seen.

“Something stinks...” Scarlett commented before leaving the conference room. _Heh, yeah. The bathroom._ I thought, snickering.

“They were talking about Aerith... Right?” I heard Cloud ask. I looked at the others curiously. _Wait... _I cringed, thinking back on the things Hojo had said. So, he had been talking about a person. _Sounds about right, actually... _I grimaced. I knew Hojo more than I cared to from working with him in the lab, and I knew how he was.

“I dunno. Probably.” Said Barret in response to Cloud's question.

“Probably.” Added Tifa.

“Knowing Hojo,” I decided to chime in. I knew Hojo better than the three of them, I was sure. “There's a good chance they were.”

“Let's follow 'em.” Cloud said, looking at each of us in turn. We nodded, and the four of us crawled back and climbed out of the vent, then left the bathrooms. We peeked around a corner, seeing Hojo head for the stairs. “Hojo... Huh?” Cloud said before the four of us followed Hojo up the stairs. We stopped on the 67th floor.

“I remember him. That Hojo guy.” Barret said, and I glanced at him. “He's in charge of the Shinra's Science Department.” I nodded at this.

“That's right.” I said. He was my boss, after all, so of course I knew this already.

“Cloud, don't you know him?” Barret asked, looking at Cloud. I wondered what Barret could mean. How could Cloud know Hojo?

“This is the first time I've actually ever seen him.” Cloud said. “So.. that's what he looks like..” He said to himself quietly. I shrugged, deciding not to ask right now why Barret thought that Cloud might have known Hojo, and led the others to the lab.


	4. Path of a Traitor

I led the others to the lab, where they hid while I approached Hojo. I took a deep breath, trying to quell my nervousness. He was looking at a red creature being held in a chamber. I had seen this creature before. I felt sorry for it, the same way I felt sorry for all of the specimens that came into the lab. I sometimes considered freeing them, but I had held myself back for fear that I would lose my job before I had found out anything.

“Is this today's specimen?” I asked Hojo, who nodded in response before he glanced at me. It took everything I had to keep myself from cringing as his eyes landed on me for the briefest of moments. “Yes. We're starting right away. Raise it to the upper level.” He told me.

“Right away, Sir.” I said, heading to the controls on the upper level. There, I saw a girl being held in a chamber like the one the red creature was being held in on the floor below and I nearly gasped. _That must be Aerith! _I thought excitedly, staring at her. I was about to open the chamber, but Hojo appeared. _Darn it! _I thought angrily. Hojo approached the chamber, eyeing Aerith which made me uncomfortable. I noticed that Cloud, Tifa, and Barret had found their way to the upper level by a different route and had spotted Aerith, too. _Here we go, _I thought, bracing myself for whatever would happen in the moments to come.

“Aerith!” Cloud shouted, and Hojo turned and looked at him.

“Aerith?” Hojo wondered aloud. “Oh, is that her name? What do you want?” He asked, and I cringed. _Gah, what is wrong with hum? Does he really just not have any respect or care for other people and living things? _I wondered.

“We're taking Aerith back.” Cloud told Hojo.

“Outsiders...” Hojo remarked. _No duh. _I thought.

“Shoulda noticed it earlier, you-” Barret rumbled. I took a step back, half expecting Barret to use his gun-arm right then and there on Hojo, having heard the tone of his voice.

“There's so many frivolous things in this world.” Hojo said. I watched as Cloud and Barret moved as if to attack Hojo. “Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it, hmm?” He told them smugly, and I frowned. _I can operate it. _I thought silently. I wasn't ready to act out against Shinra yet, though. If I did say anything now, would Cloud or Barret kill Hojo? Better to keep quiet, for now. I saw Cloud and Barret lower their weapons. I don't know why I hadn't noticed it before, but I now saw that Cloud carried Zack's sword.

_Why? Why would he have Zack's sword? Does he know Zack? _I kept wondering, until Hojo spoke up again.

“That's right.” Said Hojo. “I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves.” He told them. “Now, bring in the specimen!” Hojo called up to me. I gulped, then operated the lift that brought up the red creature into the chamber where Aerith was being held. I saw the creature's hackles rise, it's tail sticking straight up and it's teeth bared and panic welled up inside of me. _No, no, no! Don't hurt her, Red! _I begged the creature silently. I watched as Aerith pressed up against the glass of the chamber and looked out at Cloud.

“Cloud, help!” She cried. My heart was pounding. What had I just done? Should I have refused Hojo's orders, and come out as a traitor? What if Aerith got hurt now, or worse, and it was all my fault because I had listened to Hojo?

“What do you think you're doin'?” Cloud asked Hojo. It seemed that Cloud and the others hadn't noticed me, here in the control room for the chambers. I didn't know whether to feel relieved by that fact, or more alarmed by it.

“Lending a helping hand to an endangered species...” Hojo told Cloud. “Both of them are on the brink of extinction. If I don't help, all these animals will disappear.” he explained, and I cringed at the way he spoke. How could he refer to Aerith that way? She wasn't some animal.

“Animal..?” Tifa spoke up, echoing my thoughts. “That's terrible! Aerith is a human being!” she shouted angrily.

“You're gonna pay!” Barret rumbled at Hojo.

“Barret! Can't you do anything?” Cloud asked. I watched quietly from my perch in the control room.

“Awright! Step back!” Barret cried before he aimed his gun-arm at the chamber where Aerith and the red creature were being held. _He's going to- _I began thinking, before another voice spoke up.

“Stop!” Hojo cried, but it was too late. Barret fired rapidly at the chamber. “Wh.. What are you do- Oh!” Hojo cried. “My precious specimens...” He said quietly. The chamber's door opened, and the red creature leaped out and attacked Hojo. I came running out of the control room, keeping my distance from the creature and Hojo.

“Now's our chance to get Aerith!” Cloud cried before he raced into the chamber and helped Aerith up. She thanked him, and Aerith came out of the chamber. Cloud was acting strange as he came out.

“Cloud... What's wrong?” Tifa asked.

“The elevator is moving.” Cloud said. Just as he left the chamber, a monster appeared and I nearly screamed.

“This is no ordinary specimen.” Hojo told us. “This is a very ferocious specimen!” he continued, and I cringed as I stared at the monster.

“He's rather strong.” Said the red creature, and we all stared at it. “I'll help you all out.” It told us. _Wait... Red can talk?! _I was shocked by this revelation, and it was clear that everyone else was just as shocked as I was. While I had seen him before in the specimen chambers, I had never known that he could talk.

“It talked?!” Tifa and I exclaimed aloud at the same time.

“I'll talk as much as you want later.” The creature told us.

“We'll take care of that monster. Somebody take Aerith and Addy somewhere safe.” Cloud said, looking at Tifa, who nodded in response. Tifa, Aerith and myself all moved well out of the way as Cloud, the red creature, and Barret fought the monster. As they fought the monster, I examined Aerith. She was very pretty, with her long brown hair that was held back in a ponytail and braided so beautifully. She wore a pink dress and red jacket. I wondered how she knew Cloud. After the monster was taken care of, the three of us approached Cloud.

“Aerith, you all right?” Cloud asked, looking at her.

“She seems all right..” Tifa told him reassuringly. “In many ways.” I had to nod in agreement. After all, Hojo had wanted to _breed _her, and to the red creature at that! She was lucky that we had gotten here in time.

“I have a right to choose, too.” Said Red. “I don't like two-legged things.” he added, and we all turned to stare at him. I almost snickered at his last statement, but my anxiousness over the whole situation held it back.

“What are you?” Barret asked. I was curious to know the answer to that, and I focused my gaze on Red.

“An informed question, but, diffulcult to answer. I am what you see.” Red said to us. “You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way.” he continued on.

“Cloud...” Said Aerith, almost timidly I thought. “So, you did come for me.” She added in a relieved tone, and Cloud nodded.

“I apologize for what happened back there.” Red said to Aerith. “I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard.” he explained to her. _What an act! _I thought, thinking back to how distraught I had been when I had thought that he was going to attack Aerith.

“Now we've saved Aerith,” Barret began. “ain't no need to stay in this buildin'! So let's get the hell outta here!” he continued, and I nodded in agreement.

“That's a good idea.” I said, before something occurred to me. _Where did Hojo go?_ I didn't recall seeing him leave, but then again we had been caught up in that monster attacking us.

“If all six of us go together, we'll be noticed.” Cloud said. “Let's break up into two groups. Tifa, Addy, and Red XIII, you go first. Then Barret, Aerith, and myself will go.” he suggested, and we all agreed on it.

“Let's meet at the 66th floor elevator.” Tifa suggested, and we all nodded in response to her suggestion.

“Don't be late.” Red told Cloud, Barret and Aerith. Red led the way as Tifa and I followed behind him. _He's kinda cool. _I thought as we walked along behind him. We had just reached the 66th floor when we spotted a man dressed in a black suit. _Oh, no, _I thought. The man was a member of the Turks, I recognized the suit. Elena wore a similar suit. We tried to slip back into the stairwell, but another man in a black suit was waiting there for us. We were cornered, with nowhere else to go. A few moments later, Tifa and I had our hands tied behind our backs as we were led to the President's office, Red following behind us. I looked down as the President eyed us.

“You!” I heard the President say. I glanced up and saw him pointing at me and I gulped nervously. “You work here, don't you?” He asked, and I nodded slowly. “So, we've had an AVALANCHE spy in our midst!” he accused me, and I looked down at the ground.

“She wasn't a spy!” Tifa spoke up in my defense. “We forced her to help us!” she added, and I glanced at her in surprise.

“Of course you'd say that, to keep your spy here. Even if she isn't a spy, I can't risk the chance that she might be.” President Shinra said and I looked down again. A short while later I heard footsteps and looked up. The two Turks, Rude and Tseng, were herding Barret and Cloud over to us. Cloud looked at us.

“You all got caught, too?” He asked. We nodded, and then Cloud looked at the President. “Where's Aerith?!” he questioned.

“In a safe place.” President Shinra replied. “She's the last surviving Ancient...” He said, leaving his desk. We all looked at him blankly. _Ancient... What exactly is he talking about? _I wondered. “Don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now, they are just a forgotten page in history.” He explained as he approached us. _Cetra...? _I thought it sounded familiar. Perhaps I had seen something mention the Cetra in the libraries?

“Cetra.. That girl, is she a survivor of the Cetra?” I heard Red ask.

“Cetra, or the Ancients, will show us the way to the 'Promised Land'.” President Shinra told us. “I'm expecting a lot out of her.” he continued. _What exactly is it he expects from her? _I wondered.

“The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?” Red asked.

“Even so, it's just too appealing to not pursue.” Said the President in response. “It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. If the land is fertile..” he continued.

“Then there's gotta be Mako!” Barret exclaimed. _So this is all about Mako? _I thought as I listened.

“Exactly.” Said the President. “That is why our money sucking Mako Reactor is necessary. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory...” he continued on, and I heard Barret cursing.

“Quit dreamin'!” Barret told President Shinra.

“Oh really, don't you know? These days, all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power.” Said the President before he dismissed us. I frowned as Rude shooed us out of the President's way, but Barret still wanted to talk to him and tried to approach him. Rude pushed Barret back.

* * *

We were all taken to rooms on the 67th floor and locked in like prisoners, which I supposed is exactly what we were now. They took my bag, with the files on the Jenova Project tucked inside, from me. I felt frantic about possibly losing the information I had been seeking for so long, but there was nothing that I could do about it. Before I was shoved into a room, I saw Barret and Red being herded into one room, and Cloud and Tifa into another. I stumbled into the room they had put me in, and noticed that I was not alone. Aerith was here as well.

“Hello,” Aerith said to me kindly. “We were never properly introduced, were we? I'm Aerith.” she greeted me with a smile.

“I.. I'm Adelina.” I said, almost shyly as I managed a smile back. “I'm Cloud's adopted sister. You can call me Addy.” I told her, and she nodded.

“Cloud never told me he had a sister.” Aerith said, and I shrugged. I didn't know what to say in response to that. It hadn't sounded like he had known her a long time, so perhaps that topic had never came up before she was abducted?

“How do you know Cloud?” I asked, and Aerith told me all about how she had met Cloud. How she had hired him as her bodyguard. How they had gotten away from the Turks. How they had saved Tifa from the Don's place in Sector 6, with Cloud dressing up as a girl to do so. I had to laugh at the thought of Cloud dressing up like a girl. _What a sight that must have been!_ The two of us stopped talking when we heard voices. Was that Cloud I heard?

“Cloud, are you there?” Aerith called when she heard him as well.

“Aerith?! You safe?” Cloud asked. He was in the room beside ours, by the sound of it.

“Yeah, I'm all right. And so is Addy.” Aerith said.

“Addy, you're in there, too?” Cloud asked.

“Yeah, I'm here, Brother.” I said in response.

“I knew that Cloud would come for me.” Aerith said rather happily.

“Hey, I'm your bodyguard, right?” Cloud said.

“The deal was for one date, right?” Aerith asked, and I nearly gagged. _Oh, boy. Hope Tifa didn't hear that._

“Oh, I get it.” I heard Tifa say.

“Tifa!” Aerith exclaimed, and I saw her blush. “Tifa, you're there too!” she added, a bit of anxiety in her voice as she went a little pale.

“Excuse me.” Tifa said loudly. _Is she jealous, _I wondered? “You know, Aerith, I have a question.” Tifa added after a moment.

“What?” Aerith asked carefully.

“Does the Promised Land really exist?” Tifa asked, and I gazed at Aerith curiously. The President seemed to think Aerith was somehow connected with this so-called Promised Land.

“What is the Promised Land anyway?” I asked her.

“I don't know.” Aerith replied. “All I know is... The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And... Then... The Cetra will return to the Promised Land, a land that promises supreme happiness.” she explained to us. _Born from the Planet... Speak to the Planet? And... unlock the Planet? _What did it all mean?

“What does it mean?” Tifa asked, echoing my own thoughts.

“More than words... I don't know.” Aerith said honestly. I furrowed my brows.

“Speak with the Planet?” Cloud wondered aloud.

“Just what does the Planet say?” Tifa asked. _Yeah, _I wondered what it would say, too.

“It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they are saying.” Aerith replied. _Full of people and noisy?_

“You hear it now?” Cloud asked.

“I..” Aerith began, as if uncertain. “I only heard it at the church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is.. My real mother. Someday, I'll get out of Midgar... Speak with the Planet and find the Promised Land. That's what mom said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but...” Aerith fell silent and sat on the lone bed in the room. Tifa and Cloud were silent, too. No one spoke after that. My mind tried to process it all, as unfathomable as it all seemed. After a while, I decided to get some rest. Might as well, seeing as how we were locked in these rooms and since my bag had been taken away from me I couldn't read the files I had stashed in it. I just hoped that I would be able to get it back, with the files still safely inside. I sat down on the floor, leaned against the wall, and slept.


	5. Blood and Silver

I think I was dreaming, or perhaps it was more of a nightmare? Whatever it was, the far away sound of objects crashing to the floor and half-screams tried to rouse me from my slumber. The sound of a click, like a lock being turned, caused my eyes to flutter halfway open. My vision was blurry from sleep, and my head was still foggy but I thought I saw a silent figure stride into the room. I lifted my head weakly, still incredibly tired. I was so tired that when I made out the long silver hair and mako green eyes of the man now standing before me, I didn't react in the slightest. I think the man bent down, those entrancing eyes staring right at me as he did so. I felt a hand brush my hair, and then the side of my face, and then grip my chin lightly.

“Not yet.” I thought I heard him say quietly, barely a whisper really. He stood up and turned around, and I noticed the glint of a weapon in one of his hands. The last thing I made out before I fell back into slumber were the red stains on the blade of the sword.

* * *

That morning, Aerith and I were woken by Tifa, who had found a way into our room somehow. She explained that Cloud had woke up to find that their room was unlocked, and that the guard outside was dead. It turned out that the room where Aerith and I were had also been unlocked, and my heart pounded at that realization. I recalled the dream I had, and wrapped my arms around myself. _Was he... really here? _The thought sent my heart fluttering wildly. We left our room, and I gasped at the sight of the dead guard outside in the hallway.

“What could have happened to him?” I wondered aloud, trying to shake my dream from my mind. Cloud looked at me and shrugged. _Calm down, Addy. _I told myself, trying to convince myself that my dream had been just that, a dream.

“Barret's going to stay and clean up. Red XIII's gone on ahead. We should follow him.” Cloud explained to us. “Oh, this is yours, right?” He added, handing me my bag as my eyes went wide. I nodded gratefully at him and took my bag. _Are they still in here? _I wondered anxiously.

“Thanks.” I said to Cloud, while sifting through my bag to make sure the files on the Jenova Project were still there. They were, and I let out a relieved sigh. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and myself then left to follow Red while Barret remained behind to clean things up. We went to the lab, and discovered that Jenova was gone. Blood stained the floor, and I shivered. _Why would Jenova be gone? _I wondered. _Is it possible... _I didn't want to continue that thought, so I shook my head to clear my mind.

“Did it get away? Jenova...?” Cloud wondered aloud as he looked around.

“Jenova specimen...” Said Red, who waited for us nearby. “Looks like it went to the upper floor using the elevator for specimens.” he explained to us. I felt apprehensive as I looked towards the specimen elevator. And so, we headed to the upper level. Red got there first, and we found him sitting beside a corpse. My hands started to shake as I got closer. I recognized the man who now lay dead on the floor. He had worked in the lab with me. _What has happened? How could that Jenova thing do this?_ I wondered. And what about Misty, on the second floor? Was she okay? I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Cloud. I felt tears stinging my eyes, but I shook them away. I glanced at Tifa and Aerith. They were looking at me with worried expressions.

“I'm okay.” I told them in a steady voice. I didn't want them worrying about me, so I had to be strong.

“It looks like it leads up...” Red said, talking about a trail of blood he was following. We followed the trail into a hallway. I noticed long, jagged scratches on the walls that looked like they were made by some large creature. _What the..? _Did the Jenova specimen do this, really? The trail of blood continued up a stairwell and to the 68th floor. More people lay dead on this floor, some in their offices and some in the hallways. I had to fight back fear and tears as we passed them by. We continued on, climbing the stairs that led to the President's office.

“The.. The President!” I gasped. President Shinra sat in his chair, dead, his face on his desk, with a sword sticking out of his back. _Who did this? _I wondered. Barret showed up at that moment.

“He's dead...” Barret said, sounding disbelieving. “The leader of Shinra, Inc. is dead..” At that moment, Tifa went to examine the President's body. I was staring at the sword in the President's back. It seemed familiar, somehow...

“Then this sword must be...?!” Tifa exclaimed right at the moment that I realized why that sword looked so familiar to me. I gasped as it hit me. _It can't be! It can't be his!_ I rushed over to the President's body, staring at the sword. There was no doubt in my mind now, seeing the sword up close, with my own eyes.

“Sephiroth's!” Cloud and I exclaimed at the same time. I could hear Sephiroth's voice in my ear, whispering. _I will return for you. _And then... _Not yet. _Had my dream, not been a dream at all?! This was Sephiroth's sword, I was sure of it. I had seen it before, years ago. And again, last night in my dream. _But you're dead!_

“Sephiroth is alive?” Tifa asked, and Cloud nodded in response. Tears were stinging my eyes now. _That can't be true... Are you really... alive? Sephiroth..._

“Looks like it.” Cloud said as my thoughts ran wild. “Only Sephiroth can use that sword.” he added, and the confirmation sent my heart pounding once again.

“Who cares who did it?!” Barret rumbled. “This is the end of the Shinra now!” I was too shaken to mention to him that there was still the Vice President to take over the company. I then heard a groan in the corner of the room. Heard someone running. Heard them talking. But I did not hear their words until Sephiroth's name popped up.

“Se.. Sephiroth.” Palmer stammered. Cloud and Barret were holding on to his arms, I saw now. “Sephiroth came.” he told us. He sounded scared.

“Did you see him?” Cloud asked. “Did you see Sephiroth?” he pressed. My heart rate quickened as I stared at Palmer.

“Yeah,” Said Palmer. “I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!” he exclaimed, and it felt like my heart was being squeezed.

“You really saw him?” Cloud asked.

“Would I lie to you at a time like this?!” Palmer exclaimed, looking at Cloud. “And I heard his voice too! Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land.” I was sitting on the floor now, unable to stand any longer. _He's alive! Then.._ I felt so many emotions at this realization.

“Then what?” Tifa asked. “Does that mean that the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?” she continued.

“So he's a good guy, then?” Barret asked. I found myself shaking as they continued their conversation.

“Save the Promised Land?” Cloud wondered aloud. “A good guy? No way! It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!” he said. _Then what is his mission?! _I felt like screaming. _And.. What about me? _Sephiroth's voice kept ringing in my mind. _Stop it! Leave me alone! _I shook my head. It took me a while before I was able to calm myself down. By that time, Palmer had escaped and a helicopter had arrived. More than all that, Rufus was here. Rufus Shinra was the President's son, and the Vice President of the company. Well, I guess he's the President of the company now, with his father being dead. Barret, Cloud, Red, and Tifa were heading outside towards the helicopter.

“You all right?” I jumped at the voice. It was Aerith. She looked at me, seeming a bit worried. I gave her a nod as I shakily stood up.

“I'm... fine.” I told her, and then the two of us followed after the others. By the time we caught up with them, Rufus was out of the helicopter and Palmer was speaking with him.

“So...” Rufus began. “So Sephiroth was actually here...” He said before looking at us. “By the way, who are you guys?” he questioned us.

“I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER first class.” Cloud said. _What? But, there wasn't a file for him.. _I thought. How could Cloud have been a SOLDIER, and yet not have a file at Shinra Headquarters? I had rechecked all the SOLDIER files several times, and had never seen a file for Cloud. I felt that something was very off about this.

“I'm from AVALANCHE!” Barret rumbled proudly.

“Same here!” Tifa chimed in.

“Flower girl from the slums.” Aerith said.

“Research specimen.” Red said.

“Um, former researcher slash lab assistant here at headquarters..” I said. Rufus shrugged.

“What a crew. Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc.” Rufus said to us.

“You only President 'cause yer old man died!” Barret rumbled. Rufus turned his back to us.

“That's right.” Rufus said. He turned back around and started walking around us as he continued. “I'll let you hear my new appointment speech..” He told us. “Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay.” I looked down when Rufus looked at me as he said that last part. “If a terrorist attacks,” He continued. “the Shinra will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them.” Rufus now stood by the railing.

“He likes to make speeches, just like his father.” Tifa commented. Cloud looked at us.

“Get outta this building with Aerith and Addy!” He said to Barret, and I looked at him curiously. What was he up to?

“What?” Barret asked, incredulous.

“I'll explain later!” Cloud said. “Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!”

“The hell's that supposed to mean?” Barret asked. I wanted to know that myself, but my brother was making it clear that now was not the time for questions.

“I'll tell you later!” Cloud said. “Just take my word for it now! I'll go after I take care of him!”

“Awright, Cloud!” Barret said. I looked at Cloud.

“Brother..” I started.

“Addy, go!” Cloud told me.

“Be careful! And... Please don't kill him!” I told Cloud before I followed the others back into the building. We ran through the President's office and down the stairs. Aerith paused once we had reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Cloud...” Aerith said. “I just thought of something.” she continued.

“I'll wait for Cloud! Everyone, get to the elevator!” Tifa said. I walked over to her.

“I'm gonna wait for Cloud, too!” I said.

“Addy-” Tifa started to protest, but I shook my head defiantly.

“I'm waiting here with you, Tifa.” I told her firmly, looking at her with as much determination as I could muster. She gave a sigh.

“All right.” She said. The others left, and Tifa and I waited for Cloud. “Addy?” She asked a few moments later.

“Yeah?” I said, looking at her.

“Are you all right?” She asked me, obviously worried about me. I stared at her for a moment.

“Why do you ask that?” I asked her finally. “I don't care if I can't work here anymore. That's not a problem. Like I said before, I have the files I want, so it's okay..” I told her, patting my bag. She shook her head.

“That's not what I meant..” Tifa said with a sigh. _Then what did you mean? _I wondered silently. She answered that question a moment later. “If Sephiroth's alive..” She began, but seemed unable to finish what she wanted to say. I looked away as memories flashed through my mind. My hand rifled through my bag for a moment before I found what I was looking for.

“Tifa... You remember that day, five years ago?” I asked her. She was quiet for a moment and I glanced at her. She was looking away.

“I remember.” She said finally. I took out a picture that I had stashed in my bag, and always kept with me. It was the picture that man had taken of Sephiroth, Zack, Tifa, and myself five years ago. When we had arrived back in Nibelheim, he had given a copy of the picture to me.

“I.. I'll be all right.. I guess.” I told Tifa as I studied the picture. “I'm not a kid anymore.. But, I can't tell you that I don't care about Sephiroth anymore. I wish I could.” Tifa and I fell silent after that, until Cloud came down the stairs. I stuffed the picture back in my bag before looking at him. I was still curious as to why he seemed to think he had been a SOLDIER. Why he wore the uniform. Why he had Zack's sword. But, those were questions best saved for another time.

“Where's Rufus?” Tifa asked.

“He's not.. dead, is he?” I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer to my question. Cloud shook his head.

“No, I couldn't finish 'em. He took off in that helicopter.” He told us. “It looks like this is gonna get complicated.” he added. Seeing as how the building was now surrounded by Shinra troops, it was not going to be easy for us to get out of the building. Cloud had a plan, though. Tifa and I went on ahead to get the others. When we reached the ground floor, we found Barret firing at the Shinra troops. He glanced at us.

“Tifa! Addy!” He shouted at us. “Where's Cloud?” he added.

“Everyone, over here!” Tifa shouted, heading towards a doorway.

“Huh? What's up?” Barret asked. “Where's Cloud?” he asked again. I kept my mouth shut.

“We'll tell you later!” Tifa said as we headed for the doorway. “Hurry, hurry!” She urged us on. Barret, Aerith, Red XIII, Tifa, and myself all ran to the Shinra parking garage, where all the vehicles were parked. Tifa motioned us over to a blue truck before she got in the driver's side. Aerith hopped in the passenger side, while Barret and myself hopped into the back of the truck.

“Go, go!” I shouted to Tifa once we were all in. She started up the engine and we burst out of the parking garage into the main building, driving up stairs to a higher level. Cloud, riding a motorcycle, met us there.

“We're going through that window! Addy, keep down!” Tifa shouted out the driver's side window. _I don't like this. Not one bit. _I thought nervously.

“I gotcha.” Barret rumbled as he towered above me, shielding me from the broken glass that rained down when we sailed through the window. We landed on the highway with a jolt and sped off, closely followed by Shinra Pursuit Troops. I kept down low as Barret fired at the troops with his gun-arm, and Cloud tried to fend them off using Zack's sword. Once the troops were out of the way, however, and we had come to a stop at the highway's end, a tank came in to attack us. It seemed that everyone, except myself, fought off the tank. Cloud used Zack's sword, Barret fired at it with his gun arm, Tifa pounded on it with her fists, and Aerith banged on it using a staff.

I wished I could help them, but what could I do? I didn't know martial arts, like Tifa, and I didn't have a weapon. _If only I had some Materia.. _I knew how to use Materia, but I didn't have any on me. So, I watched from the sidelines as the others fought off the tank. Once the tank was gone, we all stood together.

“Well,” Barret began. “What do we do now?”

“Sephiroth is alive...” Cloud said, and I looked away. “I.. I have to settle the score.” he added. _Hmm..? What score? Did I miss something? Or, is he talking about what happened at Shinra? _I wondered.

“And that'll save the Planet?” Barret asked.

“Seems like it.” Cloud replied.

“Awright, I'm going!” Barret rumbled.

“I'll go too...” Aerith said softly. “I have things that I want to find out.” she added.

“About the Ancients?” Cloud asked her.

“About many things.” Aerith told him.

“I guess this's good bye, Midgar.” Tifa said.

“Yeah..” I said suddenly, looking back at Shinra Headquarters. I stuffed my hand into my bag, feeling for the folders that contained the files on the Jenova Project. _Still there.._ At least I had those. And my cellphone, so I could call Leila and Misty later. Maybe Elena, too, but.. _She's a Turk.. _Probably better not to call her, then.

* * *

Later, the six of us stood right outside of Midgar, deciding what we would do next. I had already called Leila and Misty. Both of them were okay, thank goodness. I hadn't told them much about my current situation, just that I was going to be gone for a while and that I wanted them to know. I would miss seeing them everyday, but it wasn't like I could just go back to my old life in Midgar. Not anymore. _Especially if he's out there..._

“I'm going back to my hometown.” Red told us. “I'll go with you as far as that.” he added. I wondered where he lived, and if there were others like him there.

“I guess this is the start of our journey...” Tifa said. I clutched at my bag as my gaze wavered.

“You know what? This is the first time I've ever left Midgar.” Aerith said.

“It's dangerous.” Cloud said, glancing from Tifa to Aerith and then to myself. “Are you three sure you want to go?” he questioned us.

“Mmm.” Tifa said in reply. “But, you know, it should be all right if you keep your promise.”

“Of course!” I told him. There was no way that I wasn't going, that was for sure. _I have to find out what's going on with you, Brother. And... I... have to confront him. _I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, steadying my resolve.

“I'd thought you'd say that!” Aerith told Cloud.

“We told Aerith's mom to go somewhere safe, so Marlene should be safe, too.” Barret said, sounding a little worried. I had learned that Marlene was his adopted daughter. The man was certainly intimidating, but he was a good guy.

“Yeah,” Cloud said to Barret. “She should be.” he added.

“She said she didn't want to stay in Midgar anymore..” Aerith said. “Maybe it's for the best.” she continued.

“Then..” Cloud said. “Let's go!”

“We need a group leader for our journey.” Barret suggested. “'Course only me could be the leader.” he added, looking rather smug.

“You think so..?” Tifa asked, looking amused. I smiled as I watched and listened to them.

“It would have to be Cloud.” Aerith said, and I nodded in agreement. Barret cursed, and I snickered.

“Awright. Go northeast to a town called Kalm.” Barret said. “If something happens, we'll meet up there. 'Sides, we can't have six people strolling down the fields. It's too dangerous. So, we should split up into two parties.” he suggested. I, of course, said I would go with Cloud. Aerith decided to join us. Barret, Tifa, and Red XIII went on ahead of us. We waited a little while before we followed, heading for the town called Kalm.


	6. Cloud's Story

Getting to Kalm was no easy feat, as we all discovered. More than once along the way, we encountered monsters that both Cloud and Aerith fought off while I remained on the sidelines, out of trouble. I again felt helpless, useless, as I couldn't help them in these battles. I could only stay out of the way as they fought, which I wasn't all too happy about. I really needed to get some materia, so that I could help out in future battles. Perhaps I would find some in Kalm, if I was lucky. Considering how late it had been when we had left Midgar, we ended up having to camp out that night. Cloud and Aerith took turns keeping watch, although I had insisted on having a turn myself, but seeing as how I had nothing to fight a monster off with if one did attack, Cloud had told me to get my rest and not to worry about it.

It was hard to sleep, what with everything that was going on. Aside from feeling bad about not being able to help out, I couldn't stop thoughts of Sephiroth from assaulting my mind. They haunted me all that night. In my dreams, I relived that day five years ago when Nibelheim had burned. I also kept seeing the recent events at Shinra Headquarters, with the bodies strewn about the building and the trails of blood. At one point during these visions, I woke with a start and sat up. Sweat was beading on my forehead, and my heart was pounding. Cloud had been on watch duty at that time, and he had looked at me with concern and asked if everything was alright. I didn't want to tell him about my nightmares, so I said that I was fine and then laid back down.

* * *

We got an early start in the morning, but it still wasn't until mid-afternoon when we finally arrived in Kalm. I gazed around curiously as we entered the town. Nibelheim and Midgar were the only places I had ever been to, so I felt somewhat excited about being in a new town.

“I wonder if everyone's here already. Let's hurry over to the Inn!” Aerith said, heading for the Inn.

“I need to stop by a shop real quick, Brother; I'll meet you at the Inn.” I told Cloud, who nodded and headed for the Inn, while I looked around for a shop that sold materia. I was in luck, as I found a little shop that had some materia for sale. It was expensive, but well worth the price that I paid. I bought a healing materia and also a couple of elemental materia at the little shop. Satisfied with my purchases, I left the shop and headed for the Inn to meet up with everyone else.

* * *

Cloud and the others were on the 2nd floor of the Inn, as I found out from the Innkeeper. So, I went up the stairs and was greeted by a chorus of their voices.

“You're late!” Aerith chastised as I reached the 2nd floor, causing me to blush.

“Yo, you're late, Addy!” Barret rumbled, and I averted my eyes for a moment in embarrassment.

“Addy, what took you so long?” Tifa asked me, and I looked over at her, slowly forming a small smile on my lips.

“Sorry, but I had to buy some materia.” I replied.

“Guess everyone's here now.” Aerith announced, which led to a change of topic in the conversation.

“So, let's hear your story...” Barret said, looking at Cloud. I raised an eyebrow as I gazed at my brother. “You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the planet. Let's hear it all.” Barret continued. I watched as Cloud looked down at the floor for a moment.

“I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER.” Cloud began to explain. Again, I wondered what he was talking about. I _know _I didn't see a file for him as a SOLDIER... Unless Shinra had disposed of it for some reason, which seemed incredibly unlikely. It didn't make sense for them to dispose of his file. I decided to listen to more of his story, without saying anything just yet.

“After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends.” Cloud continued. _Friends? _I wondered, gazing curiously at my brother.

“You call that a friend?” Barret rumbled.

“Yeah, well... He's older than me, and he hardly ever talked about himself. So, I guess you'd call him a war buddy... We trusted each other. Until one day... “ Cloud explained, falling silent. _That's right... Sephiroth is even older than Cloud..._I felt my cheeks heat up, as I thought back on that time five years ago. _I wonder what he thought of me, just a little girl in comparison, yet so obviously in love with him?_

“One day?” Aerith asked, in an attempt to get Cloud to continue the story. It broke me out of my thoughts, and I shook my head a little. _Focus, Addy. Listen to Cloud. Don't get sidetracked._ I told myself over and over.

“After the war, it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against Shinra. That was five years ago. I was sixteen...” Cloud said, telling us the story. It was raining hard that day, Cloud explained. He and Sephiroth were in a truck with two infantryman, on a mission to investigate the old Mako Reactor in Nibelheim. On their way, they fought a dragon-like monster. Cloud explained Sephiroth's prowess in battle, his amazing strength. I found his story fascinating, while at the same time it confused me deeply. _That can't be right, though. Cloud wasn't in Nibelheim that day... It was Sephiroth and Zack!_

“Sephiroth's strength is unreal.” Cloud said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him.” he added. _Yeah... _I averted my eyes for a moment. I was still confused by how his story was coming along so far.

“So... Where do you come in?” Aerith asked him.

“Me?” Cloud asked her. “I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought... And then we reached Nibelheim.” he said. Cloud picked up the story again, telling us about how Sephiroth had talked about his mother, Jenova, dying while giving birth. _Wait... Jenova?! _I fumbled through my bag, grabbing the folders on the Jenova Project that I had kept stashed there since I had run into Tifa, Barret, and Cloud in the libraries at Shinra Headquarters. I opened the first folder as the others spoke. Barret was asking Cloud about Jenova, and Tifa told him to let them hear what Cloud had to say before asking any questions.

I was only partly listening to their conversations now as I scanned the first page on the Jenova Project. _Ancient... Cetra... So, Jenova came from some other planet, originally? _I heard Aerith's voice ring out, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up and listened to what they were saying.

“I was really surprised with Tifa, and Addy.” Cloud said. “The town was quiet... Everyone must be staying in their homes, afraid to come out because of the monsters. No, maybe they're afraid of us...” he continued. _Something's wrong here..._ I thought as he spoke. But, I didn't know quite what just yet. I glanced down at the files I held, scanning the page quickly. _Prof. Gast... He named Jenova... _I heard Barret rumble something, and Aerith said something as well. I looked back up and listened as their conversations continued.

“Tell us more!” Barret said. “You saw your family, right?” he asked, glancing towards me before looking back at Cloud.

“I don't know if you could call it a 'family'... My father... died when I was still very young. That's why mom and Addy were... living alone in this house.” Cloud explained. “Yeah, I saw my mom and Addy. My mom... she was a vibrant woman. Hadn't changed at all. And Addy, she had grown so much...” he told us. I was so confused as Cloud continued to tell us his story. He told us about seeing his mother, and seeing me. But, _he hadn't. _He hadn't been there! The more I listened, the more I felt that something was very wrong with all of this, with Cloud. I wondered if Tifa felt the same way as I did. I had stopped reading the files on the Jenova Project, engulfed as I was in Cloud's story.

He continued to tell us about going to the Inn in Nibelheim, and meeting Zangan, Tifa's martial arts trainer. He told us about Sephiroth hiring a guide, which turned out to be Tifa. How she met them by the Shinra Manor at dawn, and how I happened along and ended up joining them. He told us about the picture being taken, and how we went on our way into Mt. Nibel. _This isn't right. Not at all! _I thought anxiously, furrowing my brows. He told us about reaching the Mako Reactor, about how _he _and Sephiroth went into the Reactor to investigate. About seeing monsters held in tanks inside the Reactor. About Sephiroth snapping and wondering if he were the same as those monsters. My mind was reeling from listening to all of this. I knew what had happened back then, and maybe some parts of his story did actually happen... But, Cloud hadn't been there! It was like he thought himself to be Zack Fair, I realized. _How can this be?_

I heard Barret curse as he listened to Cloud's story. He said something about hating Shinra. Tifa commented on the story, as well. Red XIII said that Cloud's story seemed to explain the increase in monsters, and then he said something to Barret. I heard Aerith and Tifa exchange some words, but I wasn't listening to them. _What is going on here? How is it that Cloud... has these memories? They aren't his memories..._

“We returned to Nibelheim. Sephiroth confined himself at the Inn. He didn't even try to talk to me.” Cloud told us.

“Then, all of a sudden, he just disappeared, right?” Tifa asked, and Cloud nodded to her.

“We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim.” Cloud said. _The mansion... _I thought, thinking back to the large building from my younger years.

“The villagers used to call it Shinra Mansion.” Tifa remarked.

“Long ago,” Cloud began. “People from Shinra used to live in that mansion...” he added. I was engulfed in his story now. This was a part that I had not known, and I wanted to now. Cloud told us about how he and an infantryman headed for the mansion, Cloud entering to look for Sephiroth. An infantryman in a room on the top floor had told him that he had seen Sephiroth enter that room, but now he was gone. Cloud found an old door in the room, which led down to a basement of sorts. He found Sephiroth, pacing, in a room in the basement. Cloud explained how Sephiroth was reading aloud from files he held in his hands. Files on the Jenova Project. I looked back at the files I held now, but looked back up when Cloud explained how Sephiroth had made a connection between the Jenova Project, and his mother, Jenova.

He explained how Sephiroth had wanted to be left alone, so Cloud had left the room. Sephiroth had stayed in the mansion, in the basement, for a long time. Cloud said that Sephiroth had continued to read as if possessed by something, and not once did the light in the basement go out. When Cloud returned to the basement, Sephiroth was laughing like a mad man. Sephiroth had been angry by the intrusion, calling Cloud a traitor. Cloud told us what Sephiroth had supposedly told him: that the planet had originally belonged to the Cetra. That the Cetra would migrate in, settle a planet, and then move on. Supposedly, at the end of their journey they would find the Promised Land. But, those who disliked the journey decided to stop their migrations; our ancestors. I was engulfed in this story, leaning closer as it continued. And then, Cloud told us about how the Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients, the Cetra. Sephiroth had been produced this way.

I was shocked. I listened on as Cloud explained how Sephiroth left the mansion, setting the town ablaze, and then went to the Mako Reactor. _He must have went there after he saved me that day... _Cloud told us about how Tifa's father had been attacked by Sephiroth. About how Tifa had tried to attack Sephiroth in turn, only to have him attack her instead. Cloud explained how Sephiroth had found Jenova at the Reactor, and about how he had challenged Sephiroth. But, Cloud couldn't remember how that fight had went. It was a blank spot in his memory. _Something is definitely very wrong here... _I had stopped listening to their conversations now. My hands were trembling uncontrollably. What had happened to Cloud's memory? They seemed to be Zack's memories. How could he have gotten Zack's memories, and forgotten his own? _This isn't right at all... _The sound of footsteps broke me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to see Barret heading for the stairs. He paused and looked back at Cloud.

“Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!” Barret rumbled.

“Wait a sec.” Cloud told him, looking at me. “Are you all right, Addy?” he asked me, a worried expression on his face.

“I... I'm fine...” I told him, realizing that I was still trembling. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself so as not to worry him further.

“Yo, come on! We can't let Sephiroth or Shinra get to no Promised Land! If they do, then we're all screwed, y'know?” Barret rumbled at us. Cloud and I both nodded in response. “Y'all jes leave it to me!” Barret told us before he left.

“Oh, brother...” Cloud muttered.

“...Cloud?” Tifa asked quietly. “How bad was I when Sephiroth cut me?” she continued. I gazed at her curiously.

“I thought you were a goner...” Cloud said, looking at Tifa. “I was really sad.” he added.

“I... The Ancients...” Aerith murmured. “Cetra... Jenova... Sephiroth and myself...” she continued, seeming lost in her own thoughts. If I hadn't been so shaken by everything myself, I would have attempted to comfort her in some way.

“Let's go, Barret's waiting.” Tifa said to us. Red XIII, Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa began to head for the stairs.

“Tifa...” I called. Tifa paused and looked back at me, while the others left. I had dropped the files on the Jenova Project to the floor, and I was sitting on a bed. My hands still trembled. She walked over to me, sitting down beside me.

“Addy, what's wrong?” She asked me with worried eyes. “Tifa... You... You noticed it, too, didn't you...? Cloud's memory? It's... all wrong!” I cried, gazing into her eyes. For a moment Tifa was silent. I saw her looking down at her hands. I fumbled in my bag, bringing out the picture from all those years ago. I showed it to her.

“Cloud's not in this picture... So, how does he know so much about what happened? And, why does he think he was actually there?” I asked her, my eyes pleading for some sort of answer to all of the questions I had.

“I... I don't know, Addy...” Tifa told me, shaking her head. “Just... Just don't mention it to him right now... all right?” she asked, and I agreed to keep quiet, and put the picture back in my bag before I collected the files on the Jenova Project, also placing them safely in my bag. Tifa and I headed down the stairs together, and met up with the others.

“Yo, you have phones?” Barret asked us. I nodded, pulling out my cellphone. Tifa shook her head, and Barret handed her a cellphone. He had given Cloud and Aerith cellphones, too, and he had each of us add each other's numbers into our cellphones so we could stay in contact when separated. After that, it was decided that we should leave Kalm.


	7. Dreams

Once again, we had split into two groups, only this time Tifa had decided to join me and Cloud while Aerith had gone with Barret and Red XIII. We were heading East, and did not make much progress as we had started out late in the day to begin with. We made camp, having a small meal before we decided to get some rest. Tifa offered to take first watch, so Cloud and I got some sleep while she kept an eye out for monsters. As soon as I fell asleep, I was plagued by a phantom voice.

_I will return for you, _the voice told me. I shook my head.

_No.. No... If you are alive, you had the chance back at HQ, _I told the voice.

_I will come for you soon, _the voice said to me.

_Why...? _I asked. And then, I saw _his _face. His mako green eyes bore into me. I shifted uncomfortably.

_It's what you've wanted all along, isn't it? _He asked me. I tried to look away, but couldn't.

_I.... _I couldn't answer him. I remembered all those years ago, back in Nibelheim. I _had _wanted to meet him. To be _something _to him. And then I had met him. And then he saved me from the flames that had engulfed Nibelheim. Those words he had said, whether they were real or I had imagined them.. I _had _wanted him to come back for me. But.. Did I still want that? I saw his full figure now, looking just as I remembered him from all those years ago. He came towards me. I could feel him embrace me.

_I will come for you soon, _he whispered in my ear. _You shall stand by my side in the Promised Land, _he told me. At that, a shiver ran down my spine.

_No... _I pulled away from him, shaking my head. _No.. No! You're.. You can't be alive... You can't..._

“Addy!” I was woken by Cloud's voice. He was shaking my shoulder, and I saw his look of concern as I opened my eyes. I sat up, and ran a hand through my hair. _It was a dream... Just a dream.._

“Addy, are you alright?” Tifa asked. She was crouched down beside Cloud.

“I.. just had a bad dream.. That's all.. I'll be fine.” I told them. They stared at me for several more moments, and then Cloud announced that he would be taking the next watch. Tifa sat down nearby, keeping an eye on me as I laid back down. I closed my eyes, trying to forget the dream.

* * *

I had no more dreams of Sephiroth that night. After we had a small meal the next morning, we continued on our way, still heading East. We encountered some monsters, but defeated them quickly, and soon we came upon a chocobo farm. I was mesmerized by the feathery creatures, and ran up to the fence to watch them. Cloud and Tifa watched more from a distance as a chocobo came over to the fence, chattering at me. I made similar noises back to it, which seemed to satisfy the bird-like creature, as it and it's fellows began what looked like a little dance routine. I clapped excitedly once they were done and had returned to their normal pecking about.

“Did you see that?!” I asked as I turned around to look at Cloud and Tifa. They both nodded, Tifa smiling.

“We should probably get some chocobos.” Cloud suggested, and I nodded vigorously in agreement. Tifa and I remained by the fence, watching the chocobos, while Cloud went inside the farmhouse to speak with the chocobo farmer.

“Hey, Addy...” Tifa said, and I looked at her.

“Hmm? What is it?” I asked her.

“Last night, in your sleep... You... were saying Sephiroth's name.” Tifa told me quietly, and I looked away.

“I'm sorry...” I murmured, staring at the ground. “I know you hate him... But, I...”

“It's okay, Addy.” Tifa said. I glanced at her and saw that she was staring off in the other direction. I opened my mouth to say more, but Cloud approached us then.

“They don't have any chocobos available, so we'll have to catch wild ones.” he told us. Both Tifa and myself stared at him.

“How exactly do we do that?” Tifa asked him.

“With this.” Cloud said before gesturing at a bale of greens nearby. He explained to us how we would go about luring chocobos with the greens, and gave us some chocobo harnesses as well. After that, we set off to find some chocobos. I found some tracks fairly quickly, and the three of us followed them until we happened along a flock of chocobos.

“Don't make too much noise.” I said quietly, taking some greens and slowly moving towards the flock of bird-like creatures. Cloud and Tifa watched as I continued to advance, until I was within the flock of chocobos. The creatures eyed me now and again, but didn't seem to feel threatened by my presence. I looked at each of them, until I picked out one of them. It was smaller than the others, possibly a younger individual.

I slowly extended one arm out, offering the greens in my hand to the chocobo. The creature gazed curiously at my face and then at the greens in my hand before slowly coming closer. It pecked at the greens in my hand, cautiously at first, but then relaxed. I slowly set the greens down on the ground, the chocobo still pecking at them, and moved carefully to it's side. It didn't seem to pay much attention to me as I slowly brought the harness up and began to strap it to the creature. Once I was finished, I held on firmly to the lead that was attached to the harness. The chocobo had finished the greens by then, and was watching me. It remained calm as I brought my hand up to stroke the feathers of it's neck.

I smiled and then watched as Cloud and Tifa attempted to catch their own chocobos. It took them longer, but finally they had managed to catch their chocobos. The three of us then returned to the chocobo farm and put our chocobos in the stables for the night, as the sun was already setting. The farmer had a room to rent to us, with three beds in the room.

“That was amazing, Addy.” Cloud told me, referring to how I had caught my chocobo. I smiled at him as I laid down in my bed.

“How did you do that? That chocobo seemed so at ease with you.” Tifa said. She was seated on the edge of another bed.

“I've worked with a lot of animals at the lab.” I told them. “Once you try to really understand an animal, it makes it easier to handle them.” I added. We didn't talk much after that, instead we all settled in and fell asleep. I dreamed of that day, 5 years ago, when Nibelheim burned and Sephiroth rescued me from the flames.

_I will return for you. _ His voice wouldn't leave me alone. It kept repeating those words, over and over again.

* * *

After having a meal the next morning, we set out on our chocobos across the supposedly dangerous marshes. The farmer had told us of a giant serpent that was supposed to live in the marshes, and attacked any and all who dared try to cross them. Crossing the marshes with chocobos was the only safe way to avoid the serpent. As we crossed, I looked around to see if I could spot any signs of this serpent, but I saw no traces of such a creature. At least, I did not see it while we crossed the marshes, but we were in for a surprise after we left the marshes behind. Once past the marshes, we got off our chocobos and let them run back to the farm on their own.

The others were there waiting for us, and staring up at the body of a giant serpent which had been impaled on a jagged, pointed rock. I stared in shock at the impaled creature before us, and wondered who could have done this. Of course, the answer came quickly, and I wasn't the only one who had come to the same conclusion.

“Did Sephiroth do this...?” Cloud said, echoing my thoughts at that moment. Barret cursed and rumbled under his breath. We then continued onward, into caves that would allow us to pass through the mountains that now blocked our way. We stayed close together as we navigated the caves, so that no one would get separated from the group. We had been traversing the caves for a while before we came to a large open section and spotted an exit up above on a ledge. However, we weren't alone here. There were Turks here, as well, and I recognized one of them as Elena.

“Just a second!” the other Turk, a tall man with a bald head and dark sunglasses, spoke up when he spotted us. “Do you know who I am?” he asked us as he approached. I did not know who he was myself, as Elena was the only Turk whom I actually knew.

“From the Turks, right?” Cloud said.

“Well, if you know, then this won't take long. It's difficult to explain what the Turks do...” the tall man said to us.

“Kidnapping, right?” Cloud said.

“Among other things.” I murmured more quietly. Elena had only recently been promoted to the Turks before I ran into Tifa and the others back at HQ, so she hadn't yet reigned in her bad habit of saying too much. She was a talker, which was fine by me as I had enjoyed listening to her, but she often said more than she had to or should say. In any case, in her excitement after her promotion she had said a bit too much about what the Turks jobs entailed.

“To put it negatively... you could say that.” the man in sunglasses said, pausing a moment. “But, that's not all there is to it anymore...” he continued, before he seemed unsure of what to say next.

“Sir!” Elena spoke up from her perch on a higher ledge, getting the man's attention. “It's all right, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!” she said to him. _So his name is Rude._ I gazed up at Elena, and her eyes landed on me. She looked shocked for just a moment, but then she frowned in disapproval. It looked like she was about to say something, but Rude spoke up before she could.

“Then, Elena, explain.” he said simply, and she nodded, her gaze leaving me.

“I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena.” she introduced herself. _Is that really necessary? _I wondered. “Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're short of people.” she continued, and I wondered who this Reno was and who had done what to him. “Although, because of that, I got promoted to the Turks...” Elena said. _So, that's how she got her promotion. _“In any case,” she started again. “our job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed. And to try and stop you every step of the way.” she explained.

_So, then... Sephiroth is alive... But, what is he doing? _ I wondered. I got lost in my thoughts for a moment, and while I heard Elena say something else, I did not make out what it was she had said. I did, however, hear what a new voice said next.

“Elena. You talk too much.” said a man with black hair who came in through the cave's exit on one of the ledges above us.

“Mr. Tseng?!” Elena said in surprise.

“No need to tell them about our orders.” Tseng chastised Elena, who deflated immediately at the reprimand.

“Sorry... Tseng.” she murmured dejectedly.

“I thought I gave you other orders. Now, go. Don't forget to file your report.” Tseng told Elena, who stood up straight.

“Oh! Right! Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading to Junon Harbor!” Elena announced, and I couldn't help but snicker. Tseng seemed upset, yet only the slightest of frowns touched his features.

“Elena. You don't seem to understand.” Tseng reprimanded her again.

“Oh! I'm... I'm sorry...” Elena said, once more deflated because of the reprimand.

“Go. Don't let Sephiroth get away.” Tseng stated, and both Rude and Elena nodded.

“Yes sir!” the two said in unison before they left the caves, although Rude paused to look back at our group.

“Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed. He wants to show his affection for you all... with a new weapon.” he stated before he left. I shivered at his statement before I eyed my brother and the others.

“What exactly did you do to this Reno guy?” I whispered.

“Cloud beat him up, trying to stop them from taking Aerith.” Tifa whispered back to me.

“Well, then... Aerith... Long time no see. Looks like you got away from the Shinra for a while, now that Sephiroth reappeared.” Tseng said, gazing at Aerith. I thought I saw fondness in his eyes, and I wondered at that.

“So, what are you saying? That I should be grateful to Sephiroth?” Aerith asked him.

“No... Well, I won't be seeing too much of you, so take care.” Tseng said.

“Strange, hearing that from you.” Aerith said.

“Well, then, stay out of Shinra's way.” he told us before he left the caves, and soon after, so did we.

* * *

After leaving the caves behind, we split up into two groups again, agreeing on meeting back up at another mountain range. I stayed with Cloud, and this time Aerith joined us while Tifa went with Barret and Red. Night soon fell, and we set up camp. After having a meal, I gazed at Aerith.

“Um... Does that Tseng guy... like you?” I questioned. Aerith looked startled by the question, then shook her head.

“Maybe... I don't know. He's... acted weird around me from the start.” she explained. After that, she and Cloud talked for a bit while I pulled out the folders in my bag. The ones on the Jenova Project. I read through some of them, shocked at what I was learning. I don't know how long I spent reading, but I felt tears sting my eyes. _No wonder he went mad... This is... horrible. How could the Shinra do this? _My thoughts drifted to Sephiroth, and at some point sleep had taken hold of me.

* * *

The dreams I had that night, were more like nightmares. I dreamed of Shinra's lab, a younger Hojo, Jenova, and a woman whose features I could not distinguish but whose name I knew of thanks to the files I had taken from HQ. I witnessed various experiments, including one involving the child of Hojo and the featureless woman. A child they had bore for the purpose of experimentation with Jenova's cells. A child who never knew his real mother, for she had died giving birth to him, and whose father had lied to him. A child who grew into a man, a man I knew.

I felt so bad for that child, and everything he had to endure. I wished that I could change it all, but I couldn't. I couldn't change the past. But, I wondered if I could change the future? Could I help him now, if he wasn't already too far gone? The dreams of the past fell apart, and in their place stood a man whose striking eyes stared at me. He held out a hand towards me.

_Join me, in the Promised Land._


End file.
